2013 Final Edition - St. Helen's Elementary School

The
Searcher
sthelensschool.ca
3894 Triumph Street
Burnaby, B.C.
V5C 1Y7
604-299-2234
Final 2013
Issue 3
Community Celebrations
Most Reverend Archbishop Michael Miller
celebrating Fr. Tony’s Installation as
St. Helen’s Pastor
St. Helen’s Class of 2013
celebrated with a special mass and dinner
on June 20 th .
By Angelica Parente
This year’s annual year end barbeque was awesome, and the weather was no disappointment! As
always we had the very famous bouncy castles, the adventurous rock climbing, the sporty mini golf
course, the amazing face painting, and lots of very entertaining games for everyone to enjoy. In the gym
we had some fantastic performances from St. Helens glee club and rock-band. There was also a fifty-fifty
draw and the winner of the draw, the Hogikyan family donated the winnings back to the school. Hope
everyone had an awesome time this year and will come back next year again to enjoy this popular school
event.

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The Searcher
Triple Gold for Fine Arts Ensembles
This year, all three of our fine arts ensembles won gold
for the school for the first time in history at the Chancellor
Music Festival! Our primary choir, intermediate choir, and
handbell choir all did a phenomenal job to win gold.
Our primary choir and intermediate choir sang two
songs each for the judges. The intermediate choir sang ‘Prayer
of the Children’ and ‘Pasta’ as their selections. As for the
handbell choir, they had lots of fun playing ‘Ave Verum’ and
‘Campano Sonos’, and they got their tenth gold in a row at the
Chancellor Music Festival!
By Phoebe Cheung
Celebrating Our Grandparents
By Angelica Parente
Each year the Grade 3 classes have an
event called Grandparent Tea”. This is an
event where the Grade 3 students thank
their grandparents for all they have done.
The day started with a mass which the
grandparents were invited to. During that
mass the grandparents got a special
blessing from father, along with a special
performance by the Grade 3 students on
their recorders. The rest of the day took
place in the basement of the Church.
There were delicious biscuits along with
tea served by the students to their
grandparents. The Grade three’s also got
to have pictures taken with their
grandparents.
Some grandparents reported that this
was the most personal event they’ve seen
their grandchildren in. Grade 3 students
reported that this was an amazing
experience, and it was totally awesome! In
the end everyone enjoyed it very much, and
it was a very wonderful day.
Thank you to all our Grade 3
Grandparents who attended our special
“Tea” and also everyone who helped
organize this event.

The Searcher Page 3
Easter Vigil
By Amanda Silveri
This year’s Easter Vigil was truly beautiful. It was my first time attending this
celebration and I thought it was amazing. It began outside with a blessed fire. The priests
marked the Paschal Candle, put the 5 nails in, and then lit the candle. Then everyone
went inside and the altar servers lit everyone’s candles. When everyone’s candle was lit,
the church looked beautiful. Following the readings, the lights turned on, the choir
started singing, the bells were chiming, and the room was filled with joy.
Easter Vigil includes the Celebration of Baptism. Four Catechumens came up to the
altar for the Litany of the Saints. Father then baptized the water with the Paschal Candle.
“The Paschal Candle is the main focus during the Easter Vigil because it represents Jesus
as the light of the world.” After the Renunciation of Sin, the Anointing with the Oil, and
the Profession of Faith, the Catechumens were baptized. This was followed by the
Personal Professions of Faith. Three candidates were received into full communion with
the Catholic Church. They professed all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches,
and proclaims to be revealed by God.
Following the Celebration of Baptism was the Celebration of Confirmation. Six
candidates received the Holy Spirit on that glorious evening. The altar servers then lit
everyone’s candle. Everyone then renewed their baptismal promises and got sprinkled
with baptismal water. “In my opinion the Easter Vigil was breath-taking. I loved the
feeling when I was there and everyone’s candle was lit.”
Congratulations to the new members of our Catholic Community!!!
Sharing Our Many Talents

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The Searcher
Future Engineers – Science Challenge 2013
By Phoebe Cheung
This year’s Science Challenge, which
happened during the week of March 11th,
was a great success. The students put a lot
of time working on each of their projects.
This year, the Kindergartens and Grade 1s
made paper airplanes and flew them. The
Grade 2s and 3s made tin foil boats to see
which construction would hold the most
pennies when floating on water. The Grade
4s and 5s made balloon-powered cars. They
were challenged to create a design that
would travel the furthest on the gym floor.
Finally, the Grade 6s and 7s made bridges
out of wooden stir sticks. Their challenge
was to create a design that would withstand
a maximum weight of 70kg (154 pounds).
During this time, students got to have fun as
well as learn many new concepts.
Congratulations to all the students for their
time and effort in the Science Challenge!
By Amanda Silveri
Kindergarten and Grade One-Paper
Airplanes: The learning goal was how to
create an aero dynamic airplane so you can
get the greatest distance out of it.
Grade Two and Three Science Challenge-
Tinfoil Boats: The purpose of this was to
create an aluminum foil boat that holds the
most amount of pennies. Students explored
the concepts of buoyancy and weight
distribution.
Grade Four and Five Science Challenge-
Balloon Cars: The concept of this was to
experiment with reducing friction and
weight when creating wind powered
vehicles to attain maximum distance.
Learning about the effects of tension and
compression on bridge structures.

The Searcher Page 5
Grade 7s “Sea” Stars in Bamfield
By Phoebe Cheung
Goals of the Bamfield
Marine Science Centre
• To inspire and
connect learners with
oceans.
• To increase ocean
literacy.
• To encourage
aspiring marine
scientists.
• To teach students
about marine biology.
BMSC
- Located on the West
side of Vancouver
Island.
- Home of the famous
“Whale Lab” which has
a touch tank and a real
whale skeleton.
- The Rix Centre:
named after Donald
Rix who donated close
to $1 million dollars “to
support BMSC as a
world-class research
and teaching facility to
inspire discovery,
innovation and
excellence in marine
and coastal sciences”.
This year, the Grade 7s got to go to Bamfield, like they do
every year, from April 3 rd to April 5 th . It was an incredible
and memorable trip for all of us. During the three fun-filled
days at Bamfield, we learnt a lot of things about marine
biology. For students that were interested in marine biology,
it was a great experience of what it is like.
On the way there, we took a walk on the Cathedral
Trail. We got to saw many trees that were over 800 years old!
After a long and bumpy bus ride, we finally arrived at
Pachena Beach to have lunch. From there, we started on our
West Coast Trail hike. We walked only a small portion of it,
but it was still very exciting. There were ladders going up and
down so we had to be really careful. When we finished, we
took the bus and went to the Bamfield Marine Sciences
Centre. Once we settled down, we went to our first classes.
Some students went down to the docks and some went to paint
a t-shirt. We wrapped up the day by celebrating Marcus’
birthday.
On the second day, we also went to some more classes,
but in the afternoon, we went to the other side of Bamfield to
study some tide pools. We explored what we saw in it and did
a little presentation on it. Some students rapped and some
sang. Even though it was raining a little, we still had a great
time learning about tide pools. Finally on the third day, we
had some classes in the morning and then went back home.
Although we were sad to leave Bamfield, we were also happy
to see our family again.
In my opinion, I think that the best part of Bamfield
was when we went whale watching. Some groups got a
glimpse of whales and some groups spotted sea lions. Other
parts of Bamfield were very exciting as well. Even though it
was only a three day trip, it felt like a long, but fun, trip. We
learnt many things about marine biology and we hope that the
future Grade 7 students will experience the same when they
go to Bamfield.

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Raising Awareness through Fun Activities
The Searcher
By Amanda Silveri
Whether through our Religion classes,
Socials classes, or Student Council
activities, the staff and students of the
school put effort into raising awareness for
social justice. Term 2 ended with some
fun and important events.
Pink Day was a very important day
because it is when we protest against
bullying. Bullying is a problem in schools,
workplaces, homes, and on the internet. Pink Day is when we raise awareness about
bulling. We wear pink because it symbolizes that we do not tolerate bulling at our
school. Almost everyone can remember a time when their feelings were hurt, or when
they were being treated with disrespect. They want it to stop, but it won't just go away
on its own. You need to speak up. Tell an adult what has happened. You shouldn't feel
unhappy or threatened. Pink Day is the day when we stand up and say no to bullying.
On Green Day, kids wore green to celebrate Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick is the patron
saint of Ireland. He was captured, brought to Ireland and was sold as a slave to herd
and tend sheep. During his captivity, he turned to God in prayer. Later, when he
escaped, he began his studies for priesthood. A few years later, when he returned to
Ireland, he was imprisoned by the Druids but managed to escape. There are also many
legends which talks about the miracles and magical fights between him and the
Druids. One of which is when he was confronted by a chieftain. The chieftain drew his
sword to kill Patrick but could not do so because his arm became rigid until he
declared himself obedient to Saint Patrick. Patrick began preaching the Gospel
throughout Ireland, converting many.
He used a shamrock to explain and
symbolize the Holy Trinity to his
followers. And another fun day we had
in term 2 was Crazy Hats Day. This
event was put on by the grade 7s for
their fundraising.

The Searcher Page 7
Celebrating the Sacraments
By Phoebe Cheung
April 21 st , 2013 was this year’s Grade 7s
turning point in their Catholic faith – becoming
an adult in the eyes of the Church through
Confirmation. While preparing for this special
sacrament, we learnt a lot about our Catholic
faith, including the Apostles’ Creed.
On the Thursday before the special day,
we had a dinner with our sponsors. It was a good
time to sit down and to know more about each
other. After the dinner, we had our rehearsal.
We were told how we would line up and where
we would sit. It was pretty confusing at first but
we figured it out afterwards. Finally, it was the
big day on Sunday. We all lined up under the
Church and proceeded to the pews. During the
homily, Archbishop asked us a few questions
about the Apostles’ Creed. Then, we were
Confirmed. When the Archbishop came up to me
and ‘sealed me with the Holy Spirit’, I felt, and I
knew, that my bond with God had strengthened
a lot.
Being Confirmed in the Catholic Church
also brings responsibility into play. When we
become adults in our lives, we are responsible for
our family and our job. When we become adults
in the Catholic Church, we have responsibilities
as well. Some responsibilities include going to
Church every Sunday, preaching the Catholic
faith through words and actions, and following
the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
After being Confirmed in the Catholic
Church, we can be even greater role models to
the younger kids who will be Confirmed when
they are in Grade 7s. Congratulations to all the
Grade 7 students who got Confirmed this year!
By Amanda Silveri
This year, the grade 2s received the
Eucharist for the first time. Celebrating their First
Holy Communion is the highlight of their year
because they are fully active in the Church because
they can receive Jesus every Sunday. “Before my
First Communion, I was very nervous because I was
not sure what the Eucharist would taste like… but I
was very excited because I was going to receive
Jesus in another way.” “I felt very happy and
relieved after my communion. I remember lying in
bed that night telling my mom ‘I am so happy that I
received Jesus, I can’t wait to take the Eucharist
every Sunday.’” At the special mass, there were 70
children that were given this sacred gift. “I will
spread my love to others by being like Jesus, praying
for others… and by donating money to those who
don’t have as much as we do.” Now that they have
received Jesus, they can fully participate at mass. “I
will follow and live out Jesus’ example by loving
everyone as Jesus has loved us, treating people the
way I want to be treated, and by telling everybody
about Jesus and how they could act like Jesus. I
will pray for everybody, especially for those in need,
and I will be kind and forgiving.”
Holy Communion is one of the three
sacraments of initiation. In Holy Communion, we
receive the body of Christ which helps us grow closer
to him. For us Catholics, there is nothing greater
than to receive Jesus when he is truly present in the
Eucharist at Mass. When we receive the Eucharist,
we are to remember when Jesus sacrificed himself
when he died on the cross for us. Through Holy
Communion we spiritually connect with our saviour
Jesus Christ, and we confess our love for him. In
the sacrament of communion, we say that we truly
believe and trust Jesus.

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A Mission for Help
The Searcher
By Angelica Parente
Here at St. Helen’s we have a mission group that does lasagna sales and helps ship a
variety of donated items to third world countries. Some of the collections include: the candy
drive, food drive, school supplies and other donated items such as clothes and household.
The grade 6 classes have been involved in helping the missions this year. For
example, the students helped collect food from all the other classes and then assisted in
organizing the donations in the storage room beneath the Church. If you would like to
participate in donating to the mission society please drop off your items underneath the gym
in the garage, but only during office hours (Monday-Friday from 8am to 4pm). Also if you
would like to help, the volunteers pack all donated items on the second Tuesday of every
month. For further information about the missions and how you can help please call 604-298-
6202 to contact Manuela, or 604-291-7016 to contact Annamaria.
Earth Day Stewardship…more than just one day!
By Angelica Parente
Earth Day is a day that encourages us to show appreciation for God’s creation and
raise awareness to take care of our planet. During Earth Day at St. Helens, we picked up
trash around our neighbourhood; each class was assigned an area to clean up. Even though
this action is small it still helps to make our planet a greener place. We should always
remember to follow the three “Rs” reduce, reuse, recycle. Reduce: to use less of something. For
example instead of playing on our electronic devices we could be playing outside getting fresh
air, or doing some arts and crafts. Reuse: to use something over again. For example, instead
of throwing a brown box away you could turn it into a mini space shuttle and pretend to be an
astronaut. Recycle: reusing waste materials. For example, we can recycle our bottles to the
“Return It” Centre.
The energy of Earth Day continued with activities even after April 22. Just recently
the grade 5 and 4 classes along with Mr. Ramalho and Mrs. Piperni cleaned the garden area
and landscaped sections around the school. In May, Cara Moretto and Zoey Collins initiated a
cleanup of the Burrard Inlet shoreline. Let’s keep working on making our planet a greener
place!

The Searcher Page 9
SHS Team Spirit Reigns the Soccer Field
By Liam Ryan
This year’s girls’ soccer tournament
was a blast! They tried their hardest and
displayed great teamwork. They were divided
into Blue and Yellow. Practice started March
30 th and the girls were divided into “Blue” and
“Yellow”. Every week, they practiced with
enthusiasm and hard work, developing more
skill each practice.
When the time came, the finals were
tough. All games tested their skills. Both teams made it to the playoff tournament. The Blues
lost their first two very close games in a shoot-out and placed 8th. The Yellows won their first
game, tied their second and lost in shoot-out, even though they dominated the whole game.
They had great sportsmanship and attitudes and were a pleasure to coach. The weather for the
first two games was pouring rain. The weather for the third game was sunny. The weather at
the tournament was beautiful, sunny and warm. A perfect day for soccer .They did amazing but
couldn’t have done it without the determination of the coaches. Mrs. Drlje and Miss Battista
had helped these girls until the finals, and did an amazing job of it.
Waldemar Sambor
Principal
Diana Silva
Vice Principal &
Editor
Nadia Piperni
Editor
Journalists:
Phoebe Cheung
Angelica Parente
Liam Ryan
Amanda Silveri